Britain's drug giant sold 29 brands marketed in countries outside Europe, America and Canada, including the painkiller Solpadeine, to South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare.

The deal comes a day after Glaxo's $2.6bn (£1.6bn) bid for America's Human Genome Sciences was rebuffed.

Selling the brands was part of a plan announced in February last year to divest "non-core" over-the-counter products with sales worth £500m.

Under that plan, it has already sold non-prescription products in America to Prestige Brands, striking a £426m deal in December. Last month, it sold the European brands to Belgium's Omega Pharma in a €470m (£384m) deal.

A year ago, it had been suggested that all the assets could sell for as much as £2bn. But the company is thought to be pleased with the prices it has achieved.